May 13, 2015 17:31 PM GMT+0530 | 0 Comment(s)

COLOMBO (EconomyNext) – Lower tea and rubber prices have taken their toll on Sri Lanka’s Balangoda Plantations, pushing it into the red in the March 2015 quarter as sales also fell.

The company made a net loss of 102 million rupees in the March 2015 quarter compared with a profit of 23 million rupees the year before, a stock exchange filing said.

It made a loss per share of 4.33 rupees compared with earnings of 98 cents the previous year.

Sales in the quarter fell 23 percent to 564 million rupees with cost of sales at 667 million rupees being more than revenue.

Both the tea and rubber businesses of Balangoda Plantations made losses during the quarter as Colombo tea auction prices sank to levels below 2013 prices and the firm was also hit by the slump in global natural rubber prices.

Balangoda Plantations said its tea sector made a loss of 99 million rupees in the March 2015 quarter compared with a gross profit of 24 million rupees the year before.

The company’s rubber business made a loss of 3.6 million rupees compared with a profit of 4.9 million rupees in the March 2014 quarter.